TUESDAY OCTOBER 2, 2012
Reflector The
REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM 125TH YEAR | ISSUE 11
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
Mississippi reading ranks among lowest in the country
BY JAMIE ALLEN Staff Writer
According to the Institute of Education Science, Mississippi’s reading test scores are the second lowest in the nation, followed only by the District of Columbia. These test scores can be attributed to the rate of illiteracy in Mississippi. According to Devon Brenner, Professor and head of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education, literacy is more complex a topic than just not being able to read. “The rate of true, total illiteracy is probably relatively low,” Brenner said. “Many people are ‘functionally literate’ in that they can decode and comprehend basic texts, the texts they need to function at a basic level in society.” However, in the 21st century, literacy is much more complex than just being able
to read and write. Brenner said in order to be fully literate in the 21st century, students and adults must be able to evaluate a website, comprehend a users’ manual or evaluate a political argument. According to Deborah Lee, professor/coordinator of Library Instructional Services and Corporate and Statical Research Center, said Starkville and Mississippi State University are trying to fix this problem. Kyle Turner, senior special education major, said programs like these are important for the future of their education and career. “Whether we realize it or not, most of the information that we intake is through reading. Without programs to promote literacy, students whole educational and working careers can suffer,” Turner said. SEE LITERACY, 2
ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR
Subway scheduled to open on campus next week BY GRACE COOLEY Contributing Writer
IAN PRESTOR | THE REFLECTOR
READER’S GUIDE
BAD DAWGS..............................3 OPINION ............................... 4 CONTACT INFO........................4 BULLETIN BOARD....................5
CROSSWORD .................. ......5 CLASSIFIEDS...........................5 LIFE......................................6 SPORTS...................................7
POLICY
When walking past the bakery, Mississippi State students can clearly see the makings of what will be the newest addition to on campus dining options: a Subway. Scheduled to open sometime in early October, as Bill Broyles, vice president of Student Affairs, said, Subway will be back on campus by popular demand. “Students have asked us to bring a Subway to campus so we were happy that Subway and Aramark were able to do that for us,” he said. The efforts to bring the
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sandwich shop to campus materialized due to collaboration between Aramark, students and campus organizations, such as the Student Association, and the MSU administration. Broyles said this collaboration was crucial in bringing in new businesses such as Subway as well as Freshens and the P.O.D in Hawthorn Hall. “When you pay attention to what the students are saying, you are able to provide them with what they want,” he said. Considering its widespread anticipation, Broyles said he is optimistic about
the grand opening of the new Subway. “We have all the equipment from Subway; we are just waiting for the location to be ready for it to be moved in. And when it is, I predict there will be lines,” he said Courtney Bryant, marketing manager for Aramark, said that the opening will be an exciting event. “The grand opening week will have games, freebies, and of course, subs,” Bryant said. “We encourage the campus community to join us to celebrate the grand opening of Subway at MSU and support the brand that they have been waiting for.”
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TUESDAY , OCTOBER 2 , 2012
NEWS
Books often challenged depending on context BY EMMA CRAWFORD
Kill A Mockingbird,” “The Catcher in The Rye,” “As I Lay Dying” and “The Lord of The Censorship in America Flies,” have been frequently threatens, particularly in the challenged throughout their forms of book banning, chal- respective histories. Ted Atkinson, professor of lenging and censoring, American literary identity and com- American literature, said he munity as well as freedom of thinks understanding the conspeech as it is granted in the text in which books become banned or censored and how Constitution. This week, in honor of the it affects the reasoning behind United States’ public freedom the censorship is important. “What happens over time to read whichever books it chooses, the American Library is the reasoning for banning a Association, along with count- single book changes depending less other organizations in the on the historical context,” he national book community said. “For example, ‘Hucklehave come together to cele- berry Finn,’ originally the banning came from brate the 30th It is a democracy — fearing that he annual Banned Book Week. people should have was a bad exfor chilAccording to access to whatever ample dren and then the event’s webthey want to read.” later it became site, http://www. more about the ala.org/advocacy/ Ted Atkinson, issues of the banned, Banned professor of language used Book Week began in 1982 . American literature and the potential for it to be Since then, offensive.” and still today, Atkinson books have been banned from schools and cen- also said the practice of nationsored and challenged nation- al book banning is not common relative to the censorship wide. According to the ALA’s and control of book availabiliwebsite, classic novels includ- ty in communities and schools. “You can filter it down to ing “The Great Gatsby,” “To the local level, so not only within the schools, but public libraries also become kind of battlefields for book banning and fighting book banning,” he said. He said often the challenging of books taught in schools and available in public libraries comes from parental concern for the content their kids may have access to through certain pieces of literature. “It happens more locally, because you have parents inNews Editor
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volved, you have everyday citizens involved in this effort to work out what readers should have access to,” he said. “A lot of times it’s children; it is a question of what should children have access to in the public library system?” Atkinson said sometimes people attempt to get a book banned without even having read it. “You often have people who aren’t familiar with it, trying to ban it,” he said. “They’re familiar with it only as a kind of phenomenon or something that they’ve heard other people talk about.” When asked his opinion, Atkinson said book banning should be handled case by case and in consideration of the local community. “I don’t like the term banned I guess,” he said. “I think that whoever is running the library whether in a school or a local library system, they have to involve as many people in the decision making as possible in terms of what’s accessible to people.” He said he believes books should be readable by whomever wishes to read them and the practice of attempting to ban a book often does not stop this from happening. Atkinson said when a person or group sets out to ban a book, they often end up encouraging others to read said book and therefore fall short of achieving their goal of keeping people from reading it. “It is a democracy — people should have access to whatever they want to read,” he said. “So I just think for our society as a whole it is counterproductive, for those who are against it or for it.”
THE REFLECTOR
MISSISSIPPI AUTHORS JOHN GRISHAM Southaven, Miss. “A Time To Kill,” “The Firm” and “The Runaway Jury”
WILLIAM FAULKNER Oxford, Miss. “As I Lay Dying,” “The Sound and The Fury” and “Satoris”
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS Columbus, Miss. “The Glass Menagerie,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “A Streetcar Named Desire”
EUDORA WELTY Jackson, Miss. “The Optimist's Daughter,” “A Curtain of Green” and “Delta Wedding”
RICHARD WRIGHT Natchez, Miss. “Uncle Tom’s Children,” “The Outsider” and “The Long Dream”
ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR
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NEWS
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TUESDAY , OCTOBER 2 , 2012
Simulator discourages texting and driving, teaches of dangers
Don’t text and drive!
“I love to read. I wish I read faster so I could read more because it takes me quite a while to get through a book. I just finished ‘The Hunger Games,’ and my wife already read all three books. She read three in the time it took me to read the first five chapters of one, but I have to start book two now. My favorite author right now is Steven Barry—— he writes historical fiction so I read all his stuff. I read John Grisham and Dan Brown; all that historical fiction stuff is a lot of fun, but my top book of all time would probably be ‘The Stand’ by Stephen King. That would be up there, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ would be up there, which is a really, really good one.”
DAWGS
Friday, September 28 • 12:00 a.m. A student was arrested on Lynn Lane for driving under the influence. • 12:40 a.m. A student was arrested for false information. • 1:22 p.m. A student reported her vehicle was damaged while parked in Herbert Hall gravel parking lot. • 2:37 p.m. A student passed out at Humphrey Coliseum. The subject was transported to OCH. • 2:58 p.m. A student reported a suspicious incident on George Perry Street. • 9:30 p.m. A student was arrested at MSU Horse Park for minor in possession of alcohol. • 9:37 p.m. A non-resident/visitor had a seizure at the MSU Horse Park. The subject was transported to OCH.
Saturday, September 29 • 12:42 a.m. A student was arrested on Jarnigan Street for driving under the influence and driving the wrong way on a one-way street. • 12:43 a.m. A student was arrested on Maxwell Street for minor in possession of alcohol. • 1:01 a.m. A student was arrested on University Drive for driving under the influence and driving the wrong way on a one-way street. • 2:31 a.m. A student was arrested at Oak Hall for public drunkenness. • 3:38 p.m. A student reported his bicycle stolen from the bike rack at Carpenter Hall.
Sunday, September 30 • 5:16 a.m. A student was transported to OCH from Sessums for medical assistance. • 10:35 a.m. A student reported a suspicious incident that was posted on his Facebook page. • 10:13 p.m. A resident director reported a suspicious person at Cresswell Hall.
Citations:
• 2 citations were issued for speeding. • 2 citations were issued for running a stop sign. • 1 citation was issued for careless driving.
- DAN MULLEN, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR
LITERACY One way MSU is encouraging students to read is through the Maroon Edition. The Maroon Edition is a shared reading experience targeted toward incoming freshmen at MSU. Lee said the Maroon Edition fosters an environment of learning and community on campus and encourages students to analyze and ask questions about what they are learning. “The idea was to have a common event that really brought freshmen into university life and introduced them not just to a book but to a way of thinking about the information that they
3
BAD
BY JAMIE ALLEN
“I believe that texting and driving is wrong because you are not Staff Writer only putting yourself at risk but others driving around you too. I The Longest Student Health Distraction from cell phone use while would hate to be the one that sent Center is hosting a Distracted Drivdriving (hand held or hands free) the message that someone was ing Simulator today in an effort to increases a driver's reaction time reading when they crashed,” Lightencourage students to think before as much as having a blood alcohol sey said. joining the 660,000 cars on the concentration at the legal limit Shrock said the dangers of disroad whose drivers are on their cell of .08 percent. tracted driving are greater than one phones. may think. The simulator will be on the drill “Five seconds is the average time field from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. for your eyes are off the road while texstudents to experience the conseting. When traveling at 55 miles quences of texting and driving and per hour, that’s enough time to drinking and driving. cover the length of a football field,” According to Joyce Yates, director Shrock said. of Health Education and Wellness, Yates said she hopes bringing the department decided to bring in the simulator to campus will have the simulator to encourage students a positive impact on the students to not drive while distracted. and that this will save the life of at “The Health Education and Wellleast one student. ness Department realizes the impor“Hopefully, once a participant tance of prevention needed in the sees his or her score while driving area of distracted driving,” Yates said. distracted, the student will realize The National Highway Safety the danger of this type of driving,” Commission states that distracted said Yates. “It is expensive to bring driving is the cause of 16 percent of the simulator company to campus, all fatal car crashes and 21 percent of but it is worth it if one life is saved all injury-causing crashes. due to the learning experience,” David Shrock, graduate student Yates said. studying kinesiology, said this simuLightsey said a life is more imlator will show students how being portant than a text and she hopes distracted while driving affects their students quit texting while driving reaction time. after going through the simulator “Participants will be able to take ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR and seeing their results. a ‘test drive,’ viewing a computerized tion,” Shrock said. “Whoever you are texting is not as imscreen above the dash that simulates a veClaire Lightsey, junior elementary eduhicle in motion. Upon completion of the cation major, said she does not agree with portant as your life. If it is so important, exercise, the ‘drivers’ will be able to see how texting while driving because of the risks it pull over. But don’t risk your life and others just to text ‘hey,’” Lightsey said. well or poorly they did in the demonstraplaces on a person’s life.
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continued from 1 read, analyzing what they read, asking the questions that we expect a college educated student to ask of the information that they read and to create a climate on campus that fosters this intellectual discovery,” he said. Lee also said the city of Starkville has a very similar program called Starkville Reads. “Starkville Reads is an exciting opportunity to do in the community a common-reading book, and they do several throughout the semester,” he said. “They have programs that bring authors into the community and also programing in the school system.”
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TUESDAY , OCTOBER 2, 2012
OPINION
THE REFLECTOR
the voice of MSU students
FACE-OFF E-BOOKS VS PRINTED BOOKS
EVERYBODY NEEDS TO CALM DOWN | ZACK ORSBORN
THE SNITCH | HANNAH ROGERS
E-readers offer book experience, affordable Real books evoke memory, timeless
S
We live in a world where o I’m sitting on a bench, immersing my- people are addicted to reself in some fine liter- freshing social networks ature (like Harry Potter or every five seconds. A world something) when all of the where standing in line lonsudden, I catch a glare from ger than 30 seconds can rea passerby. In her hand, she sult in a mental breakdown. holds a thick book bound A world where technology in some really pretentious surrounds us. Times are leather. I think to myself: changing, and I’m all about “Man, that is some preten- going with the flow. Here’s the thing: E-books tious leather, and why is she are just another way to read glaring at me?” Her dirty stare proba- in these high-flying times. Shouldn’t we be promotbly stemmed from the fact that I was holding an iPad. ing reading in general rather than wantI’m holding ing to rip a plastic and Times are changing, an iPad out glass toy that of someone’s happens to be and I’m all about and loaded with going with the flow. hand smash the over 70 books E-books are just device on I can switch b e t w e e n another way to read the ground, shattering whenever I in these high-flying millions of choose. times.” words? Whenever A little I get tired of Harry being overtly angsty, dramatic, I know, but I fear I can easily switch over to for the life of my iPad (peoanother book (probably ple are animals). But good thing E-books with the same amount of angst because, let’s face it, can be backed up so you will never lose those precious angst is fun). While I am still offended words, right? I understand iPads, I was being judged for, you know, reading, I will say I Nooks and Kindles are not can see why the poor little the cheapest, and as poor hipster did what she did. college students, money I get the whole nostalgia definitely does not grow on trees. But on occasional thing. I get that some people get strolls to Barnes & Noble, I a tingle down their spine see recently released books when they open a book and are in the $20 to $30 price smell the must of freshly- range. I almost have a heart atprinted pages. I get that there is noth- tack thinking about spending like turning pages even ing that much money on though there is a substantial one item when I can just risk of getting a paper cut open up the Books app and (printed books are danger- download the same book for ous!), but it’s 2012, people. $10.
“
Y
ZACK ORSBORN Zack Orsborn is the life editor at The Reflector. He can be contacted at opinion@reflector.msstate. edu. Before you even purchase a book, the Books app offers a free sample. Hey, I’ll admit it: I’m lazy, and I do not have time to be gallivanting off to Barnes & Noble every time I want to check out a new book. I mean, what is this, the 1990s? I have learned one thing about printed book lovers: they are serious and die-hard about the printed word. I am almost sure they all have “Kindles Suck” tattooed on their arms. But really, guys, a book is a book. While printed-book lovers “enjoy” the discomfort of holding up a book for prolonged amounts of time, I will just be chilling, holding my iPad with one hand, scarfing down a muffin with the other hand. So, I say to you, E-book readers, raise your superb technology above your heads. Blind the judgmental with the lights of your screens (or not, because e-readers with glareless screens exist), and go forth in the dangerous world full of paper cuts and pretentious leather.
es, I’ve called E-readers my bedroom window and stolen “the devil’s instrument.” it from my bedside table. And, Yes, I’ve shared some of no, I’m not advocating keeping my conspiracy theories on plots illegal copies of material, but to destroy the joy of the printed there’s a limit of what companies word. Yes, I do indeed have a should be able to do (and, to be small mountain of books at my fair, Amazon eventually said they house because I’ve run out of wouldn’t do it again). But that shelf space but can’t stop buying doesn’t mean that something similar can’t happen somewhere else. them. And no, I don’t regret it. Sure, no one really owns Harry But as irrational as I can be about the superiority of a physical Potter or Lord of the Rings except book over its virtual equivalent, I for those who created the world or hold the rights to the creations. also have a logical case. Really. From commercials to endorse- But with real books, we have ments by the average E-reader more guaranteed control over our owner, it’s obvious that one of the copies of the source material. We can lend our books for main reasons everyone promotes getting one is for convenience. as long as we want. If we want I get it: you can use your smart- to sell a book, we can. We can phone app to access your books be assured that if we annotate and read them during football the pages, our work will not be games. That’s cool. And yes, I destroyed so long as the book is get that it’s easier to carry around intact. one reasonably-sized device than E-books may be convenient, giant tomes when traveling. And but they have too many strings atE-books tend tached and too many to be cheapBooks are to inspire, phrases in er. And you explore, push boundaries their licenscan get them faster than a and bring new worlds to ing agreements that shipment of life.” make me books from formulate conspiracy theories of Amazon. Fine, I concede. You’re right. how companies can take away the But just because something freedom I’m used to having. With seems superficially more conve- a real book, the only fine print I nient doesn’t mean it’s better in have to deal with is copyright, and since I respect authors, I have no the long term. Take, for example, the Kindle. intention of violating that. The Back in 2009, Amazon delet- printed word means freedom. ed electronic copies of “Animal And, to a degree, I don’t trust Farm” and “1984” from custom- technology. I know, perhaps I ers’ E-readers. (To be fair, Ama- should go live in an era without zon refunded the purchase price a computer. But let’s face it: batand removed the copies because teries don’t last forever, hardware they were illegal.) dies, bad things happen on the But that’s not the point. The Internet. point is that if I had unknowSo, whether it’s getting to the ingly bought an illegal, physical good part of the book and losing copy of “Animal Farm,” Ama- battery life because I forgot to zon wouldn’t have crawled into charge an E-reader, or if the world
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HANNAH ROGERS Hannah Rogers is the editor in chief at The Reflector. She can be contacted at opinion@ reflector.msstate.edu. goes “Revolution” one day and the power shuts off, what good is an E-reader then, I ask you. I’ll still be able to read Charles Dickens by candlelight. And I’ll be happy about it. Until I burn my house down. But really, E-readers have some merit. Obviously. But real books are simply better. There’s history in a book. You can see the pages where you stained them because you cried so hard or underlined a quote that meant something to you when you read it 10 years ago. You can see their age, the dogeared pages and see your progress as you turn the pages. The tangible object evokes memory: I can still remember when my dad bought me the Harry Potter series and hid it behind the tree during Christmas and reading my first chapter book with my mom at the start of kindergarten (“Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase,” if you cared. You didn’t.) Books are to inspire, explore, push boundaries and bring new worlds to life. And holding a novel in your hand better encompasses that than bland words on a computer screen. And maybe I’m just a little too trite and romantic, but it simply seems more magical as you open up the pages to begin an adventure.
WHAT IS THE REFLECTOR STAFF READING? “War in Heaven” by Charles Williams
“The Secret History” by Donna Tartt Emma Crawford
Hannah Rogers
John Galatas
The
Reflector Editor in Chief Hannah Rogers
Managing Editor Kaitlyn Byrne
Life Editor Zack Orsborn
Multimedia Editor Eric Evans Sports Editor Kristen Spink
News Editor Emma Crawford
Campus News Editor John Galatas
Photography Editor Jay Johnson
Copy Editor Candace Barnette
Opinion Editor Mary Chase Breedlove Copy Editor Rachel Burke
CONTACT INFORMATION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Editor in Chief/Hannah Rogers
Letters to the editor should be sent to the Meyer Student Media Center or mailed to The Reflector, PO Box 5407, Mississippi State, MS. Letters may also be emailed to editor@reflector.msstate.edu. Letters must include name and telephone number for verification purposes. The editor reserves the right to edit or refuse to publish a letter.
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CORRECTIONS
Jay Johnson
EDITORIAL POLICY The Reflector is the official student newspaper of Mississippi State University. Content is determined solely by the student editorial staff. The contents of The Reflector have not been approved by Mississippi State University.
The Reflector staff strives to maintain the integrity of this paper through accurate and honest reporting. If we publish an error we will correct it. To report an error, call 325-7905.
“The Green Mile” by Stephen King Mary Chase Breedlove
“The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling
“Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson
“Salem Falls” by Jodi Picoult Kaitlyn Byrne
“World War Z” by Max Brooks
Zack Orsborn
“Through My Eyes” by Tim Tebow Kristen Spink “Mange, Prie, Amie” by Elizabeth Gilbert
“Steve Jobs” by Walter Issacson
Eric Evans
Candace Barnette
ONE LITTLE SPARK | WHITNEY KNIGHT
Book censorship violates rights T
his week, Sept. 30 Librarians are constantly through Oct. 6, is forced to move books to “seBanned Books Week, cret shelves” or inaccessible a week dedicated to raising sections because of commuawareness to the ongoing nity disapproval. fight against censorship. Here’s the thing: No one One would think a country person has the right to limlike the U.S., which so often it my access to any book, defends its right to do what- regardless of material. The ever it wants to other coun- First Amendment includes tries, would have defeated my right to consume what censorship by now. I want to, not what a PTA But censorship is like a mom wants me to. Marvel villain: it pops up But not everyone agrees. everywhere and is impossi- Last January, Arizona impleble to kill. mented a state One would think In 2011, the law banning American all books from a country like the Library Asclassrooms that U.S., which so often were taught in sociation recorded 326 Arizona’s Mexdefends its right to challenges do whatever it wants ican-American to library studies curricto other countries, materials, ulum because including would have defeated they were “probooks by racial censorship by now.” moting Kurt Vonresentment.” negut, Su(And by the zanne Collins, Stephen Ch- way, why does Mississippi bosky and Toni Morrison. get all the bad press? Have And those are only the you seen Arizona lately?) ones in which someone In the new law, everycared enough to at least try thing from Shakespeare to to do something about it. state-of-the-art textbooks to
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Sherman Alexie was banned from the curriculum. A laundry list of books in which Mexican-American students could see themselves, abruptly gone simply because the Arizona state government was afraid of the power they could give to the underrepresented. What Arizona did was unimaginably bigoted and cruel, but it won’t stop much of the good that was coming from that curriculum. Ideas often prove impossible to quench, and banned books have a way of finding themselves in students’ possession. Accessibility of all types of ideas and books is critical to our freedom. Books can change our very foundations. They can put us in others’ shoes, show us we’re not alone, give us a new way of looking at things. Books empower us to do what we thought we could not. By their very definition, books change us. Telling us which books we
WHITNEY KNIGHT Whitney Knight is a junior majoring in English education. Se can be contacted at opinion@ reflector.msstate.edu. can read is telling us who we can be. And I, for one, am not okay with that. Banned Books Week is traditionally celebrated by reading a banned book. Personally, I’m challenging myself to read the entire list of banned books in Arizona’s ethnic studies program. So be a rebel and pick up a banned book this week. But more importantly, stand against censorship. Our First Amendment rights are only rights so long as we protect and defend them.
5 | TUEDAY , OCTOBER
2 , 2012
REFLECTOR-ONLINE
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BULLETIN BOARD CLASSIFIEDS POLICY The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; the deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. Classifieds are $5 per issue. Student and staff ads are $3 per issue, pre-paid. Lost and found: found items can be listed for free; lost items are listed for standard ad cost. HELP WANTED Bartending. Up to $300 / day. No experience necessary. Training available. Call 800.965.6520 ext. 213. FOR SALE Classic comics and albums. The largest collection of comic books and albums in the area. Also movie posters, sports memorabilia, DVDs, CDs and beer signs. Located in Ziggy’s Buy & Sell, 434 Highway 12. Details on Facebook. FOR RENT Two bedroom, 1.5 bathroom townhouse for
rent. Quiet complex on South Montgomery. Grad students, professionals and families. Available now! Call 312.4722. CLUB INFO The deadline for Tuesday’s paper is 3 p.m. Thursday; deadline for Friday’s paper is 3 p.m. Tuesday. MSU student organizations may place free announcements in Club Info. Information may be submitted by email to club_info@reflector.msstate. edu with the subject heading “CLUB INFO,” or a form may be completed at The Reflector office in the Student Media Center. A contact name, phone number and requested run dates must be included for club info to appear in The Reflector. All submissions are subject to exemption according to space availability. WESLEY FOUNDATION Insight Bible study and worship on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at the Wesley
Foundation Worship Center on East Lee. Boulevard next to Campus Book Mart. MSU CATHOLIC STUDENT ASSOCIATION The MSU Catholic Student Association invites you to join us for Sunday mass at 5:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 607 University Dr. All are welcome to $2 Tuesday night dinner at 6 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/msstatecsa MSU STUDENT CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MICROBIOLOGY Contact msuasm@yahoo.com or like us on Facebook, “MSU ASM,” for membership information. MSU STUDENT DIETETIC ASSOCIATION SDA meeting on Oct. 9 (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. with light supper at 5:45.
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TUESDAY , OCTOBER 2, 2012
THE REFLECTOR
LIFE & ENTERTAINMENT MSU teacher writes first novel The most conceited thing about Michael Kardos’ website and the man in general, it seems, is how large his portrait on his website becomes when clicked upon. It fills the Internet browser with his headshot as it slowly loads. Other than that, nothing about Kardos, whether teaching in class or reading from his works, would suggest a smugness over his accolades: a review of his first novel “The Three Day Affair” (about three college friends who commit an accidental kidnapping and are tossed into a moral pressure cooker) in the Sunday New York Times is just a drop in the bucket. His 2011 short story collection “One Last Good Time” beat out “Salvage the Bones” (winner of the National Book Award for Fiction) for the 2012 Mississippi Arts & Letters Prize for Fiction. That aforementioned smugness would seem justified. But before all this writing and award-winning business, Michael Kardos said he had other things on his plate: earning a music degree from Princeton
and playing as a professional drummer for eight years. “I was in a band; we played in New York, and all around for a while,” Kardos said. Kardos said he spent those years reading, writing and picking apart his favorite works before deciding to return to school with the intention of getting his master’s in fine arts in creative writing but not without a little fun first. “Once I knew I was going, I spent the last year playing drums in a Bruce Springsteen tribute band. It would not have been awesome if that was going to be the rest of my life, but I knew it was a year, so it was great,” he said. Kardos said graduate school became a place to learn to write, find a future wife and decide to purse a doctorate to become a university creative writing and literature professor. “I assumed I’d spend three years obsessing and learning how to write and go back to New Jersey. I never knew I was going to teach until the middle of grad school at Ohio State. I met my wife there; we went to grad school at the University
of Missouri together. We were studying for comprehensive exams on our honeymoon, on the beach reading these giant tomes,” he said, laughing. At a reading from “The Three Day Affair” on Sept. 18, Becky Hagenston, also a creative writing professor with published short story collections, introduced Kardos kindly. In a later interview, she said she greatly admired the contrasts in “The Three Day Affair” and Kardos’ work at large. “What I love most about Mike’s work — in his novel and his stories — is how he combines the darker elements of human experience with things that are just flat-out hilarious,” she said. At the event, Kardos said he would be reading a flashback sequence detailing the main character meeting his future partners-in-crime at Princeton, and signing afterwards. “I thought I would read for around 30 minutes. Afterward I’ll be around, we’ll chat informally, whatever you all want to do,” he said. Post-reading, Kardos was indeed hanging around. And in
line to cheese for the camera and get her copy of “The Three Day Affair” signed was English graduate student Rachel Mordecki, who said she took Kardos’ intermediate fiction class as a junior at MSU after transferring from the Mississippi University for Women. “When I was at the ‘W’ my creative writing professor told me that I wasn’t a good enough writer to be a professional writer. Intermediate fiction was a last ditch effort; being in that class lifted my spirits about the whole thing,” she said. One of the stories Mordecki wrote for the class impressed Kardos, and she said his constructive and easy-going nature helped her decide to continue to pursue creative writing. “I wasn’t afraid to talk to him. It’s easy to go and talk to him in his office about an issue; he’s really good about just listening,” she said. Just as Mordecki told, an interview with Kardos in his office was fluid and relaxed.
“Looper” offers science fiction thrill ride BY ALEX MONIÉ Contributing Writer
“Looper” is a movie set in the year 2044 in which hired assassins, or “loopers,” kill targets sent from 30 years in the future by the mob. Joe (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is one of these “loopers” who excels at his job and reaps the rewards in the
form of money, women, fast cars and social status. All is well until Joe’s future self, portrayed by Bruce Willis, is sent back and escapes. Joe’s future self has his own motives besides being killed and begins to wreak havoc in Joe’s present. Take equal parts of great science fiction time-travel movies like “Terminator” and “12 Monkeys,” throw in a dash of 2009’s “Push,” and viewers are left with “Looper.” The movie gets an “A” for effort but fails to develop a lot of necessary components to make it great. If the story was just about J o e
stopping his future self from wrecking the present, that would be simple and make a good movie. Unfortunately, there is a side story focusing on a poor single mother (Emily Blunt) and her
10-year-old son that makes the story drift somewhere else. What viewers can give “Looper” credit for is not letting the weight of the time-travel mechanic weigh the movie down. Levitt and Willis could have phoned this in, but each makes an effort to take on slight characteristics of the other to make it work. The two work well and almost inspire sympathy if they were not hired killers. The movie is very well laid out with enough action and twists to sustain itself. Hover bikes and weird weapons are present, but “Looper” always remains grounded and relatable. Every character’s motives are crystal clear, and by the time the last act comes, the writers allow the story to finish without more shocks. While the fictional future is not completely fleshed out, enough is explained so the viewer is not in complete disbelief. Take it at face value: “Looper” is an extremely enjoyable movie with a more emotional core than expected. COURTESY PHOTO | SONY PICTURES
opinionbook What’s on your mind? Please don’t hold back. Some mildly-offensive status about Obama’s policy!!!!
And just as his portrait and his ways at the reading promised, the professional musician, award-winning, critically revered author and influential professor was nothing but sincere and grateful.
STARKVILLE SECRETS:
HANNAH PETTY | THE REFLECTOR
BY DANIEL HART
Contributing Writer
It’’ Time to Relax by Stephanie Sharp
October is here, and cooler weather has finally made its way down to Mississippi. The autumn season is synonymous with the return of football season, pumpkin spice lattes and leaping into a sizable pile of multicolored leaves. How is it fair such a beautiful season occurs during midterms? Classes unfortunately pick up pace during this time of the semester, which can often result with you feeling trapped inside classrooms and libraries. Need a place to escape the world of textbooks and PowerPoint presentations? Here are a few places around the Starkville area to enjoy the new season with activities that are both fun and frugal.
SAM D. HAMILTON NOXUBEE WILDLIFE REFUGE
JAY JOHNSON | THE REFLECTOR
Consisting of 48,000 acres, the refuge provides several areas for relaxation and adventure. Bring a book and take advantage of the multiple reading spots while surrounding yourself with natural beauty and escaping into your literary world of choice. Past the parking area, the tall trees lining Bluff Lake present opportunities for long days spent in ENO hammocks soaking up the sunshine and cool breeze. Lace up your sneakers or boots to go hiking through the refuge’s various trails. Located in the Bevill Hill area and consisting of a 1.75-mile loop, deputy refuge manager Kimberly Sykes and park ranger Andrea Dunstan said Scattertown Trail is their favorite. “When you walk the trail this time of year, you get to see beautiful vistas with all the leaves changing colors for the fall season,” Sykes said. Dunstan said a new tower looking over Loakfoma Creek is accessible for another beautiful view of the refuge. Though the tower cannot be seen from the road, following the brick path through the Webster Memorial will lead to this spot.
MOUNTAIN BIKING AND TRAIL RUNNING AT NORTH FARM
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Facebook takes on new form of politics BY SHELBY PERANICH Contributing Writer
The time comes around every four years where everyone’s Facebook news feed is bombarded with political rants and sappy advertisements of candidates holding some religious item with the American Flag behind them. Yes, the time for the 2012 presidential election is here. Whether or not people participate in the trend of displaying political views on social networking sites, ignoring those who do is almost impossible. When it comes to getting passionate with politics on Facebook, Brandon Beatty, junior accounting major, said he does not post anything except the occasional political web link, and people who do sometimes are
not as informed as they may seem. “I think a lot of times when people put their political views out there, it’s not fully backed with reason; they just kind of sound ridiculous. When I see people write stuff, it’s too much opinion-based, not enough fact-based,” he said. Regardless of which political party these Facebook users are supporting or bashing, some people believe they deserve some credit for attempting to be active citizens in the government. Beatty said even the drawn-out arguments on political posts are not always a bad thing. “To me it’s a good thing because I think not enough younger people are involved. But like I said, sometimes it makes me realize how uninformed people are,” he said.
Like every issue in America, there are always multiple sides. Although some people may agree a little politicking over Facebook is harmless, others do not feel that way. Ashtin Giambrone, freshman biomedical engineering major, said she is dissatisfied with what her Facebook news feed has become. “When I think of Facebook, I think of photos and friends. Facebook just isn’t the right way to go about it,” she said. Giambrone said she does not think social networking sites in general are appropriate places for people to discuss politics. “If it is continuous, I usually de-friend them, in all honesty. I really don’t care about their posts,” she said. Some people have more
nonchalant outlooks on the issue of Facebook politics. A.J. Parks, freshman biology major, said she is not really affected by people who post their views on social networks. “Facebook is their freedom of speech. If they want to have a political debate on there, I really don’t care,” she said. While various Facebook users may even try to avoid their news feeds around the time of local or national elections because of the ranting and raving, Parks said it will never keep her from checking her Facebook when she wants. “I can just ignore what people are saying if I don’t want to see it. I’m not looking forward to the election being over, I am just indifferent,” she said.
Feeling the need to get out and bike in the crisp air? Trails are located within the R. R. Foil Plant Science Research Center, commonly referred to as North Farm. Outdoor adventures coordinator Trey Harrison said the research park trails are one of his favorite outdoor activities in Starkville. “The great thing about North Farm is that you can do the mountain biking trials, and then if you get a little worn out, you can get on roads and ride back at an easier pace,” Harrison said. “You can make it a three to five-mile loop — however you want to do it.” Trail running is also an option for those who want to brave the hills. The trails start by the sandy area near the entomology building inside the research park. Another option is parking at the rose garden and riding or running the flat roads until reaching the beginning of the dirt trails. Be careful visiting North Farm during this month because road construction is taking place for a new boulevard that will serve as a second entrance to the research park.
VETERANS MEMORIAL ROSE GARDEN JENNIFER NGUYEN | THE REFLECTOR
While you are out at North Farm, take a break at Veterans Memorial Rose Garden. Owned by Mississippi State as a resource and teaching site, the rose garden is also accessible to the public. Paved walkways through the beds give guests the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the various fall flowers. A central gazebo provides shade and benches to take in the scenery. Pamela Collins, director of gardens, said a lot of color is currently on display since fall is the second bloom season for roses. “Since the weather has gotten cooler, the roses are rebounding and they are putting on their fall display, which will remain in bloom until mid to late October,” Collins said. “At least until frost, you are going to have good blooms.” The parking area for the rose garden located off Highway 182 will be available until further road construction for North Farm takes place within the next few weeks.
SPORTS
TUESDAY , OCTOBER 2, 2012
REFLECTOR-ONLINE.COM
NO. 20 MSU AT 50: THE NUMBER OF DIGS BY KENTUCKY FRESHMAN ROXANNE MCVEY IN FRIDAY NIGHT’S MATCH, SETTING AN MSU RECORD. SATURDAY, 11:21 A.M. SEC NETWORK
SPORTS Soccer
WHAT WILL MSU’S FOOTBALL RECORD BE THIS SEASON? ZACK ORSBORN | THE REFLECTOR
SPINK ON SPORTS | KRISTEN SPINK
INTENTIONAL GROUNDING | JOHN GALATAS
an Mullen has had over three years to produce a championship contending football team at Mississippi State. With three full recruiting classes now on the field for the Dogs, Mullen and State fans are beginning to see his work pay off. KRISTEN SPINK Bulldog fans have waited quite some time for an above-average Kristen Spink is the sports football team. While the numereditor of The Reflector. She can ous SEC West losses in recent years have been tough to bear, I be contacted at reflectorsports@ gmail.com. believe the wait is worth it. MSU will have a record of look a hungry Bulldog team com10-2 at the end of the regular sea- ing at them. If they lose to Bama — which they will — the Tigers son. will be devastated and consider State’s next game is Saturday at Kentucky, and their season a failure. coming off a bye Either way, State comes out week, the Dogs on top in a close game should where Mullen out-coaches Les Miles and Tyler have little Russell proves he is a trouble with the Cats to move big-time SEC quarterback. to 5-0. But then the VolStanding at 8-2 unteers of Tennessee and second place in come to town. Most the West, State will people are chalking up then host Arkansas. this game as a win for Although the Razorbacks MSU, but as Lee Corso are in the would say, not so fast, my midst of one of the greatest let friends. This season is do or die for UT downs by a preseason top-10 team head coach Derek Dooley. If he in college football history, you does not win a big game this year, know they will get a few solid wins I think Dooley will be headed out at some point. I’m just hoping one of Knoxville. After losing close of those wins is not in Starkville. I think the Dogs will come out games to Florida and Georgia, the chances for a key win are becom- ready to play and take care of the Hogs. Home-field advantage will ing more and more narrow. The Vols know Alabama and be a key in this game, which will South Carolina will be close to be closer than expected. At 9-2 on the season, MSU will impossible wins, so the MSU game is a must-win for UT. Add work to prove the motto, “This is that motivation to the fact UT Our State.” The Egg Bowl will be will be coming off its bye week, a close one this year. I think the and unfortunately, you get the Rebels will need this win to beperfect recipe for an upset in come bowl eligible, but State will need it to reach double-digit wins. Starkville. In a hard-fought game in OxI’m counting State’s next game against MTSU as a homecoming ford, which will feature four or five interceptions by Johnthan win, moving the Dogs to 6-1. Then it’s time to travel to Tus- Banks, State will come out with caloosa. At this point, the Tide the win and end the regular seawill be well on its way to anoth- son 10-2. Being the fourth best team in er national championship, and I just don’t think State will be able the SEC behind Alabama, Georto handle Alabama, moving the gia and South Carolina, MSU will play in the Cotton Bowl against Dogs to 6-2. Back home in Starkville, State the second best team in the Big will then host Texas A&M in the 12, Oklahoma (the tough start “Snow Bowl.” The combination won’t stop the Sooners from makof the Dogs new “Snow Bowl” ing a big comeback in the Big 12.) I’m tempted to say that after jerseys and the fans’ welcome of such a good season the Aggies the Dogs may fall into the SEC This is the year we the Sooners, but will be just will beat the Tigers... to that would most enough for If you take a look at definitely not be State to slide by A&M LSU’s schedule, you True Maroon — much like saying with the win. will see State’s game our record will be Week 11 will be the came at just the right 8-4... A record of 11-2 thriller for time for the Dogs.” sounds amazing. the Dogs as they travel to LSU. This is the year Difficult but doable. With a deterwe will beat the Tigers. We already mined coach and a hard-working beat some Tigers, so might as well group of players, this prediction may not be far from reality. finish off the rest. If you take a look at LSU’s schedule, you will see State’s game came at just the right time for the Dogs. The Tigers’ four games right before they face State are against Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Alabama. Needless to say, LSU will be slightly worn out when Nov. 10 rolls around. The Tigers’ bye week is the week before they play Alabama, so the Tide will consume LSU’s focus. If they beat Bama, the Tigers will be so excited they will over-
f there is anything Dan Mullen and his staff are striving for in year four with the Dogs, it’s “building championships.” After their first win against a western division team not named Ole Miss, the Dogs took a step forward in reaching their championship goals and Mullen said the monkey didn’t jump off his back but more like an 800-pound gorilla jumped on. Come November, will MSU be able to handle the pressure and weight of the SEC and continue its success? By the end of the season, State will finish with an 8-4 record, and here’s why. Sure, I along with the rest of the Maroon and White love the defense and shout, “Johnthan Banks for Heisman,” but the best offense the Bulldogs have faced all year came from Troy. The Bulldog offense hasn’t been exactly what fans had hoped to see since the Auburn game, and with a lack of production against Troy and South Alabama, the Dogs will need to get the offense going if they want to see more wins. One thing MSU does have in its favor is turnovers. The Dogs are +12 in the turnover margin, mostly thanks to a stout secondary defense, but they cannot rely on consistent turnovers to carry them the rest of the season. MSU will have its hands full as it travels to Kentucky this weekend. The Cats have been known for home game upsets the last few seasons, including a scare to South Carolina last week, but the Dogs should be 5-0 as they return from Lexington. Then comes Tennessee. The Vols hung 44 points and almost 500 yards in a boat race against No. 5 Georgia in Athens, and quarterback Tyler Bray will be coming off an open date to prepare for a swing game for their season and hand the Dogs their first loss. MSU will rebound against Middle Tennessee State, but the Dogs need to be careful as MTSU defeated Georgia Tech last weekend in Atlanta (but what else do you expect from the ACC, right?). State’s next three games are the epitome of what makes the SEC so competitive — a high-potent Texas A&M sandwiched between two road games against last year’s national championship game opponents. The Dogs will travel to Alabama Oct. 27 in what will be
This is Our Year Dogs need more work I D
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JOHN GALATAS John Galatas is the campus news editor of The Reflector. He can be contacted at news@ reflector.msstate.edu. College Game Day atmosphere worthy. As much as I hate the Tide, you can’t ignore what Nick Saban has done in Tuscaloosa as he continues to reload his teams on his way to three national titles in four years. State will be given loss number two before returning home to welcome Texas A&M to the SEC. A&M lost its first game of the year to Florida, but since then, the Aggies have put up video game numbers. Redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel will have just enough to keep the MSU defense off balance and escape Starkville with a win. State will then take a 6-3 record down to Baton Rouge. So far LSU is a silent 5-0 and continually slipping down in the polls, but in my opinion, it’s right where the Tigers want to be. The schedule will be brutal for LSU as three of its next four opponents are in the top 10, and the Tigers will be coming off the showdown of the season against Alabama the week before the Dogs come to town. But something tells me LSU head coach Les Miles has not shown teams everything in the playbook, and the Mad Hatter still has some magic for the Tigers this season. Next on the schedule is Arkansas. The Dogs should get back on the winning track with this one to get to 7-4. Finally comes the season finale against the school up north. Ole Miss has already won three games so far (three more than I thought the Rebels would win), and a season-ending win could make the Rebels bowl eligible. This one will be much closer than fans want it to be, but the Dogs will make it four years in a row and set the 8-4 final record. I called State finishing 8-4 with a Gator Bowl appearance against Wisconsin.
It was another tough weekend for the Bulldog soccer team as it dropped two more conference games. Friday night, the LSU game went down to the wire as State lost on a goal that came on the 81st minute on a bit of a scrappy play where one could argue the ball just bounced LSU’s way. Before LSU’s goal, the game was an intense defensive struggle, featuring strong play from both teams’ goal keepers. MSU goalie Skylar Rosson was out of Friday’s game because of a red card penalty in the previous game, so sophomore C.J. Winship stepped up to make the first start of her career. Sunday’s game against No. 6 Texas A&M went a little differently as A&M got its two scores within the first 12 minutes of the contest. Rosson returned to the goal and made some incredible saves to keep the Dogs in the game. The Aggies outshot State 26-15 and kept control of the game. The rain never let up for all 90 minutes of the contest, creating a muddy field and undesired conditions for both teams.
Volleyball Over the weekend at the Newell-Grissom building, MSU lost two tough volleyball matches to LSU and No. 12 Florida. Friday night’s match was a five-set thriller and included a record 50 digs by Bulldog freshman Roxanne McVey, who leads the SEC in digs. Offensively, freshman Sarah Temperilli had a career-best 19 kills, while freshman Taylor Scott turned in her fifth double-double of the year with 18 kills and 20 digs. Head coach Jenny Hazelwood said the high level of performance was a reflection of the great week of practice her team had. “I’m disappointed that we fought so hard and came so close to breaking through with a big win, but I am proud of the how we competed and battled throughout the match,” Hazelwood said. The Gators kept their SEC record spotless Sunday with a straightsets win over the Dogs. Scott led all hitters with 10 kills, and McVey led the team with 15 digs. The Dogs will continue the pursuit of their first conference win this weekend when the team travels to Auburn on Friday and takes on Texas A&M Sunday.
Cross Country The cross country teams competed in the Notre Dame Invite over the weekend, running against 10 nationally-ranked teams. The MSU men’s team finished 20th and were led by John Valentine, Philip Johnson and Curtis Kelly. The Lady Bulldogs finished 15th behind team leader Renee Masterson, who finished 33rd individually. Up next for the Dogs is the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa Oct. 13.
Club Sports Over the weekend, the MSU club lacrosse team defeated Memphis 10-9 in overtime. The club ultimate frisbee team lost two games to Ole Miss. The club men’s soccer team won four games, including a victory in the championship game over Tulane in penalty kicks.
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